A PilotGirl Protégée

Yesterday was International Women’s Day and as a result PilotGirl has taken a female intern under her wing for the month. Her name is Jennifer and she’s from the New School of Radio and Television on Colvin Ave in Albany. She’s a hardworking small town girl from Gloversville, NY, who wants nothing more than to be a full-time editor in a wedding post house.

Yes, weddings…. that is, until I get through with her.

Weddings are the next best thing to flipping burgers and scrubbing porcelain I told her. And, there’s absolutely no way any intern of mine should want to edit miles of mundane marriage vows after a month of traveling with PilotGirl.

And, so, while driving out to Buffalo yesterday, our first big trip, for just a couple of low key industrial shoots, Jennifer got a dose of pursuing higher endeavors. I told her about my years at CBS news, my trips around the world, the exclusives that landed on 60 minutes and in international newspapers and of course, writing with GoNomad.

Today, I introduced her to companies supplying our U.S. military with secret equipment to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, inventors who have built parts to help fight building fires and salesfolk who speak 4 languages. And this is just the beginning. Every day I hope to open her blinders a crack further on the bigger world that waits her outside of Gloversville. Thursday it’s back to politics in downtown Albany but maybe next week it’s onto New York for network adventures. Everyday is different.

Tonight we wrap over plates of Italian, good humor and political sarcasm from my right-leaning clients. As a die-hard liberal it’s hard to keep a straight face in the company of mockery but Jennifer understands that even at my ripe age lessons are learned – never bite the hand that feeds.